Electronic computers and data processing equipment have rapidly become vital and heavily relied upon tools for businesses, industries, medical institutions, and governmental agencies. New services and products have been created by improvements to these machines. Equipment that once required a dedicated building may now require only a desk top.
Heretofore, risk of loss from liquid contamination was usually limited to paper records, and the rare computer room. Little, if anything, was done to prevent losses. Today, the evolution of electronic computer and data processing equipment has increased the threat of loss from contaminants to enormous proportions. This development has placed sensitive electronic equipment in high risk locations.
The uninterrupted operation of electronic computer/data processing equipment is vital to the function of the user. Once committed to this new equipment, the previously used methods are usually abandoned. The major cost from the disruption of service is usually loss of business or vital services, not the loss of the electronic equipment.
Equipment containing micro-processors are becoming more sensitive to liquid and air-borne contaminants. This is due to their increasing complexity and decreasing size. They require assembly in "clean rooms" to be free of contaminants during manufacturing. If contaminated, this type of equipment and the data within is expensive, difficult, and sometimes impossible to replace or repair.
Contaminants are found in many forms. One of the most destructive, liquids, are present in large quantities. Liquid contamination sources may include leaking or burst pipes, over-flowing plumbing fixtures, weather-related failures of building elements, fire fighting, construction debris, and spills during maintenance.
In a hospital or medical center, for instance, it would be very difficult to locate equipment in areas that would minimize exposure to contamination. Large numbers of water and water lines exist throughout these environments. Additionally, new computer-drive diagnostic and procedural equipment is constantly being introduced. This spreads sensitive equipment throughout the medial environment. Placement of the equipment is determined by need and availability of space, not risk factor.
As buildings age, their mechanical systems deteriorate, increasing the risk of mechanical failure. Plumbing will have become internally restricted, and corroded over the years. Additions and changes will have increased the number of joints which may fail. Furthermore, utility lines and systems within the building such as electrical conduits and heating, venting, and air conditioning conduits, may inadvertently serve as pipes during an accident to convey contaminants far from their source of origin.
High rise buildings also have larger sized mechanical systems, carrying greater volumes of potential contaminants. And, the greater the number of floors above a particular area, the higher the risk that the lower area will be subjected to damaging liquid intrusion of some kind.
A tenant may not have control over the other individuals and areas in a building. Deliberate or accidental damage may be incurred by vandalism or carelessness. The amount of public access to a building may increase this risk. Hospitals and government offices have a large volume of individuals passing through them.
Prior shielding systems, to the extent they exist, have been incorporated directly into the ceiling and wall constructions of the building space involved. Thus, they do not lend themselves to installation in existing structures with established wall and ceiling constructions already in place. Moreover, in many instances, their emphasis is on providing a dust-free environment, or one which is protected from air-borne contaminants, without regard to the problem of liquid intrusions.